HappyLifestyleJournal
People will forever be unsatisfied with the way the country is led. Currently, many people disagree with the way President Obama administrates the country. But after you realize that there have been more than several U.S. Presidents that didn’t lead the country well at all, you will be happy that someone like Obama came to the ‘throne’.
Lies, mismanagement, self-interest, rash decisions and poor strategies are only a few of the things this country has had to deal with due to having bad presidents throughout history. Many of these Presidents have scarred the U.S., and although being such an important figure carries a lot of responsibility, these 5 Presidents were the worst at their role of leaders.
1. Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding said it himself: “I am not fit for this office and should have never been here.”
Before becoming the President of the United States, Harding was a newspaperman and publisher, and a womanizer. He didn’t especially want to sit in the presidential chair, but he was known for his tendency to say yes to everyone, and when the Republican Party suggested him in the elections he accepted to participate in the campaign. His speech was very vague, but he won anyway.
Harding was the 29th President of the United States. During his time in the White House, he was busy playing poker and golf, as well as spending time with his mistress, while his appointees and friends plundered the U.S. government and scarred it almost irreparably.
Harding just didn’t know what he was doing and let the situation get out of control and allowed his Secretary of the Interior to decide what will happen with government oil reserves. Obviously, that caused huge losses to the nation.
2. Herbert Hoover
The 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover had great achievements that benefited the state, but he was also extremely uncaring and ill-spirited and he did nothing to insure the people’s well-being.
Hoover was elected President just the night before the Great Depression started. Educated as an engineer at Stanford, Hoover was very skillful and he ran great relief operations during and after WWI.
When the Depression took place, he started projects to create jobs as well as lowered taxes, but denied help to those who needed it the most. He was a bad communicator and didn’t care that many people were left without a home. Moreover, his signing into laws even worsened the Depression. Under his rule, people were utterly miserable and couldn’t wait to see him leave the Oval Office.
3. Richard Nixon
Although he was generally a good politician, he was often acting almost as if he was delusional and had uneven judgment.
Nixon did many great things for the U.S. – he opened U.S. relations with China, extricated the U.S. from the quagmire of Vietnam, led the war against crime and supported several domestic policies and causes.
However, he ended his presidential career quite explosively. Nixon resigned after obstructing an investigation of a crime committed by the people who ran his campaign (an array of illegal activities commonly known as the Watergate scandal). Namely, those people tried to raid the Democratic National Headquarters, and for trying to protect them and keep the crime a secret, Nixon’s reputation was forever ruined.
4. George W. Bush
George W. Bush won the election after an intense race with Al Gore and since then his presidency was intense all the time – he just couldn’t catch a break.
Bush was the President when the events on September, 11, 2001 happened and scarred America for good. This was Bush’s first year in office and he didn’t quite know how to respond to the attacks and failed to bring Osama bin Laden to justice. Instead, Bush waged two wars (against Afghanistan and Iraq) that cost the state billions and were utterly ineffective. Not to mention how many lives were lost in vain.
Although Bush inherited a strong economy set up by President Bill Clinton, he managed to increase unemployment rates and cause income inequality and decrease of wages. The way he governed the U.S. led the state to the Great Recession of 2008.
5. Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the United States during whose rule the U.S. was constantly in inflation, recession and battled an energy crisis.
He is on the list of the worst U.S. Presidents for several reasons. First, in 1979 a group of Iranian students took over the U.S. embassy and held 52 Americans (citizens and diplomats) hostage for 444 days. The president did nothing for 100 days, and when he finally decided to act, the mission failed and 8 people died.
There were several other fails which made people decide not to reelect Carter when the time for new elections came. Ironically, Carter did more good for the state after his presidency than during.
